Please Let Me Get What I Want
by SindeeDee
Summary: Inspired by the Smith's Please Please Let Me Get What I Want, starting from the end of 3x12 a week after Zuko's arrival. Everyone has accepted him except for Katara. Will Zuko show Katara he's changed enough to gain her trust? CHP 11 IS NOW UP!
1. Refusal

**Please Please Let Me Get What I Want**

So this is my first story on this account. I've written fanfiction before but I can't tell you that I'm incredible at it, even if I'm studying English right now. Anyway, the characters are hopefully all in original character and if not, forgive me. I know a lot of people are skeptical as to the canonability of Zutara, and I'm not here to confirm or deny that. Just to bring a hopefully interesting series...of...longer than usual drabbles. Lol. I don't know, I'm new to this thing, help a girl out )

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, they are the property of their respective owners Viacom and Nickelodeon.

Sindee  
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**1. Refusal **

He didn't dare look up. Not unless he wanted an eye full of daggers brought to him by the girl sitting across from his bending pupil. He continued to sip at his tea (a new found love) and casually pick at the gruel like substance that this girl, Katara, had made for lunch.

His pupil Aang had warned him that though Katara's cooking was typically fantastic, on days where they were pressed for time and food, she usually resorted to making a less than interesting meal. Today was one of those days. She had conjured up a concoction that was supposedly called "Sea prunes"...supplies happily garnered from the Fire Nation. Zuko cursed his nation for even thinking of growing such a plant but since no one else was offering any food at the ready, the prunes would have to suffice.

"How is it?" Katara asked, looking around at the group, eagerly awaiting a positive response. Sokka was accustomed to prunes as much as Katara was and nodded wildly in appreciation, praising his sister for making it "just as good as mom did". Katara haughtily accepted this appraisal and remarked at how nice it was when Sokka wasn't being a complete idiot.

Haru groaned a bit but kept in his lunch, but the Duke wasn't so lucky and shortly expressed this onto the floor. Teo had secretly disposed of the prunes (or fed them to Momo) while the rest of the gang sucked in their taste buds and ate on.

"And how is it for you, _Prince Zuko_." Katara asked the prince, making sure he was aware of the iciness she had paired to his name.

Zuko hestiated for a bit and looked around the room for answers. Aang hid his face quickly as did Sokka and Haru. The Duke had already made his way out of the room and to the lavatory and Teo temporarily feigned blindness to Zuko's silent pleas. The only person looking square at him was Toph. Toph, he had learned, was blind. He had never known this before and was surprised that her talents in earthbending had extended so far that even sight wasn't a problem for her. He looked down at her feet and frowned. _It was an accident_, he reminded himself.

"Well Sparky, aren't you going to answer Katara's question?" Toph asked, grinning wide.

Sparky? Well, that was new.

"It's good." he managed to say, pushing a spoonful into his mouth and hoping his gag reflexes wouldn't kick in. _I sure hope this wasn't poisoned..._

The waterbender managed a tight smile before getting up to clean up the dishes. And as she started, the gang dispursed into the chambers of the temple. All except for Zuko.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked, looking over at Zuko who was in the middle of picking up plates.

"Um...Cleaning?" He replied.

"Ah, cleaning. Well, sorry I'm the one who usually cleans up around here." Katara said, pulling the plate from his hands in mild annoyance. Zuko looked up in disbelief.

"Well, I figured I'd just help seeing as you're the only one who's...doing anything." he offered, trying his best not to sound pathetic. Though, he couldn't help but feel that he was.

Katara threw down her wash cloth and growled. "If you're trying to win my trust by helping me clean, it'll take more than cleaning a bowl to do it," she leaned toward him and jabbed her small index finger into the middle of his chest, "I know who you are and if you actually think that kissing up to me will win my trust...I'm sorry but it just doesn't work that way. Go train with Aang, you're more useful to him than you are to me."

He looked down at the place where her finger had touched. He felt a dent had been put into his skin, even past all the layers of his clothing. With his finger, he smoothed the dent to assauge the pain of broken skin and self-defeat. When he looked up again, Katara wasn't paying any mind to him but putting all the bowls that had accumulated from breakfast and lunch into the washing tub.

He sighed. She was possibly more impossible than Azula.


	2. The talk

**2. The Talk**

Aang and Zuko had had a long day of training and had decided to recline for a bit as the evening began to set. Sokka had tagged along in fear of his own boredom while Toph had gone off with Teo, Haru and the Duke, to explore the stone structures. Haru had suggested an earthbending battle initially, which Toph of course, could not refuse.

As the three boys lay on the camp ground, the moon in the sky smiled down upon them (specifically Sokka). They were all quiet for a moment before Sokka cleared his throat to speak. Zuko perked his head up.

"You have got to be the first." the watertribe boy started, digging his head into a log.

"First what?" Zuko asked, looking to Sokka blindly in the dark.

"First guy to tick off my sister to the point where she's so angry she can't even say it. And usually, she is pretty vocal about that kind of stuff. Congrats, you've done a feat even her brother couldn't do." he replied, clutching his boomerang to his body.

"She seems pretty vocal about it to me." Zuko replied, "she wouldn't even let me clean up after myself." He was careful about mentioning her visit to his room where she threatened to "end his destiny" if he ever made a slip up. It wasn't necessary to tell them that anyway, and he was pretty sure that she wasn't _really_going to kill him...was she?

Sokka snorted, "But has she bothered to mention to you why she's so angry?"

Zuko paused, "Not really, but I'm sure all of that could be inferred from what I've done in the past."

Aang coughed, "Is Katara really that angry?" He asked, curious as to whether or not he himself could ever get into a predicament as bad as Zuko's. "And what about Jet? Wasn't she angry about him too?"

Jet? Zuko recognized the name. He then realised that Jet was the Earth Kingdom boy who had become obsessive when it came to tracking him and his uncle. That boy was hell bent on proving that they were firebenders. Jet and Zuko had their share of ridiculous run ins in which Zuko always prevailed with his mastery of swords. He casually medidated on what could've happened to him after he'd left the city.

Sokka sighed, "Well, Jet's dead--"

Oh.

"and she forgave him before he died anyway. She was angry at him but I don't think I've ever seen her like this before. You know, Zuko did chase _you_ Aang. I'm just having trouble deciding what it is about Zuko that particularly rubs my sister the wrong way. But, it is without a doubt that Mr. Royalty over here has certainly made my sister incredibly uncomfortable. Any thoughts Hot Head?" Sokka asked.

Zuko's mind went blank as all male memory did when it came to recalling events. Especially those that could have potentially scorned any females. He knew he had done a lot of wrong in the past and contemplated briefly upon all the injustices he had ever committed toward Katara alone. Well, when he was sixteen he found her mother's necklace and refused to give it back. And apparently her mother was dead...then he'd tied her to a tree and taunted her with said necklace...captured her...got teased by a bounty hunter about being involved with her...was that it? But then at seventeen he had been captured along with her in the prison in Ba Sing Se...she had offered to heal his scar, Aang had come rushing in with uncle...and...

"She deserves to be angry at me." Zuko said stoically into the silence of the night. "Aang, you should be angry at me. Because of me my sister almost killed you...did kill you."

Aang rolled onto his side, "You've done a lot of wrong in the past before Zuko. I can't say I'm perfect either, even if I'm supposed to be the Avatar. You've already appoligized to me enough about Ba Sing Se. It's in the past, we just all have to move on...besides all of this is depressing me. Forget I asked."

As the tiny airbender's words resounded in the dark, Zuko was struck by the immense wisdom a young boy like him could ever possess. When Zuko was his age, all he ever had to worry about was respecting elders...which in the end he failed at anyway. He touched his scar and felt the bumps and edges of once singed skin. Katara had offered to heal it for him and he had accepted, but in the end he had betrayed her trust and caused Aang to die. The water from the Spirit Oasis had saved the Avatar, but it had once been reserved for him...until he denied her offer for what he thought was better. _I am a royal idiot._

"Aang! Sokka! Where are you?" a voice called from the distance. Zuko knew who's voice it was immediately. He quickly sat up and turned to the girl, dimly coming in from the distance.

She stopped squarely in front of the trio, "Hrm. Three boys here, and another _four_ back there. Soon enough this place is going to be smelling like a pig sty." Her eyes slanted to Zuko. He gulped. "Anyway, dinner is ready."

The three slowly got up and made for the main temple grounds. Katara pushed a hand onto Zuko's chest, stopping him.

"You, stay." she said bitterly.

"Uh, okay." Zuko muttered nervously. He quickly glanced to Sokka and Aang who both shrugged simultaneously at the prince. He turned anxiously to her.

"How was training?" Katara asked, annoyance and anger bitterly ringing in her voice.

Zuko gulped, "Good...Aang...Aang's making a lot of progress."

"Hnf, good. What's he learned to far?" Katara asked again, raising a brow.

"The basics-s...just learning how to make fire...controlling it...pretty much."

"Well, good to know." Katara replied, turning around and heading back for the temple grounds. She paused and turned back to him. "Also, tomorrow I'll be watching you and Aang train. Remember what I said. I mean it."


	3. Morning Call

Well, this is the third chapter. If you're wondering when things are going to pick up, I'm a subtle author I'll warn you right now. Slow progression is my forte, but if you're not into that, then I suggest you wait just one more chapter and there'll be certified results. Don't expect too much though ). Thanks for all the positive reviews so far, I'm really glad some people are liking this story D

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**3. ****Morning Call**

Zuko was up bright and early. He prided himself good at waking up since he benefited much from the rays of the sun. In the daytime, he was at his strongest and he also felt quite good about himself too. He looked to his left and noticed a mirror hanging on the wall of his room. He slowly approached it and stared deeply into it. _I wonder if I could ever look through myself if I tried hard enough._

He softly touched his scar and felt the ridges of flesh stacked upon itself. In the four years that he had been banished from the Fire Nation, he had rarely touched his scar and tried hard to forget it was there. Morning after morning he was reminded of the singed skin beneath the bandages and the pain of banishment from his own father. He felt the presence of someone at the door.

"Breakfast is ready."

Zuko turned around. Sokka was standing in the doorway with Toph, both holding a sausage and fried dumpling in hand.

Toph smiled at him, "Good morning princess. You seem quite alive today."

Princess? Were the nicknames endless? He smiled and walked to the door and noticed that Katara was behind them. "Good morning." He said, cautiously.

Katara didn't bother returning his greeting and promptly handed him a plate of dumplings. She smiled tightly and walked away, leaving Toph and Sokka behind with the prince. They shrugged in unison and continued their way to the common area.

Zuko looked down at the dumplings, carefully inspecting the dumplings for traces of sharp objects and possible poisoning attempts. He reminded himself that she probably wouldn't poison him if he was Aang's last hope to firebend...would she? The dumplings reminded him of the ones he and Jin had dined on in the restaurant in Ba Sing Se. He took a bite and smiled. _These are pretty good, probably not as good as the cooks made them in the Fire Nation but...still pretty good._ Aang wasn't lying after all. He stopped and wondered where she could've gotten the time and materials to make dumplings so early in the morning.

When he had made his way to the fountain in front of the temple, he noticed that Aang hadn't arrived yet and it was only Katara sitting on the edge of the stone fountain. He slowly made a step forward.

Katara snapped her head around and met Zuko's eyes, "Aang isn't here yet because he's still eating breakfast. He helped himself to another dozen of my dumplings. It's rare that I ever cook dumplings without meat in them. Mostly because of Sokka." She looked to the ground.

Zuko noticed that the aggression in her voice had declined since their first meeting. It had been now a week and a half since his arrival and he was glad that she was slowly...but hopefully _surely_ warming up to him.

"The dumplings were really good," He began, hoping that she wouldn't react negatively to what he was saying, "where'd you get all the ingredients to cook for us?"

_I hope she doesn't freak out on me for asking this..._

She snorted, "And I suppose you want to cook too now? I saved up the last bit of flour we had and used the last of the leek we bought in the Fire Nation. Question answered now?"

He nodded, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just...that." he replied, now unsure of where he was going with his statement. It just seemed appropriate to say it at the time.

She scrunched up her nose and chortled lightly.

"Hey guys, ready to start training?" Aang said, coming out from the hall. The airbender looked happy and refreshed as usual, Zuko noted. Was Aang even capable of being upset?

Katara stood up and hovered close to the boy, "Aang, today I'm going to watch you and Zuko train. Do you mind?"

Aang shrugged, seeming to like the attention Katara was giving him, "No, of course I don't."

Katara smiled and hugged him lightly. "Well then, we should get going."


	4. Problembending

Warning: Some possible OOC-ness, but you tell me. I'm not exactly sure if this chapter is out of character (specifically the ending) but I'm hoping it's not. There's more development coming up in the next chapter, and yay, this chapter isn't short! Or...well...longer than the other chapters. So, enjoy!

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**4. Problem-bending**

With Katara there, Zuko found it explicitly difficult to concentrate. For one, she was always intruding into their sparring (calling out whenever she deemed it unsafe), she'd then make them take a break every fifteen minutes and call out to Zuko whenever his words were too "forceful". It felt like he was being mothered by a fourteen year old.

_Mothered._

The last time anyone ever tried to mother Zuko was when he still had his mother. She had left the Fire Nation when he was only a child, after committing an awful act of treason. Upon the last meeting he had with his father, he had learned that she was possibly alive. He tried his best not to think about it, since his father may have been lying...but he couldn't help but wonder where his mother was if she was still out there.

"What are you thinking about?" a voice asked.

It was Aang's. During their five minute break, Katara asked that they all sit down and relax. Zuko had allowed his mind to wander off a bit and was too distracted to notice Aang had been trying to speak to him.

"My mother. That's all." Zuko replied, forgetting Katara was there.

Katara's brows furrowed and she frowned. Zuko noticed her reaction and remained silent. He didn't need her knowing that his mother may have been alive...he also didn't need her thinking he was lying to her in the prison. He wasn't, it had been his father who was lying all along. His mother had risked her own life just to save his, and his own father had been too callous to even say it to him. His own father had been to callous about him all along.

"Well, break is over, you two should get back to training." Katara said, getting up herself. She dusted off the grass on her stockings and adjusted her gloves. "What are you looking at?" She said, looking at Zuko, who was still apparently looking at her.

He quickly looked away in fear, "Nothing." He added, wondering why she had asked him that. He was starting to confirm the fact she must've been picking at anything to intimidate him.

She looked away from him and to Aang, "Be careful okay. Don't start off too aggressively and make sure you focus just as much on defense as you do on offense."

"Fire is an offensive type of element, it requires concentration, and also requires careful attention because of how dangerous it can be." Zuko added onto her words. She looked up at him briefly, almost in approval but then quickly moved her head down again. Zuko smiled, maybe she was coming around after all.

Aang nodded and took his stance, he motioned his hands like Zuko had taught him to and proceeded to make a sizable ball of fire. Zuko had told him to bend the fire so that the ball would go far enough to almost hit the rocks in front of them but stop before they could. This would train his control of the element. Zuko had told Katara to stay clear just in case she got hurt again like she had before. She responded with a snort and promptly told the prince she was, "perfectly competent in my own element to defend myself."

As Aang got ready to throw the ball of fire in the direction of the wall, a rattle in the bushes startled him and the ball went flying in the direction of Zuko. Noticing the fire immediately coming at him, Zuko readied to defend himself against it with his own flames...but was surprised to feel that he was suddenly soaking wet.

"Haven't you ever heard that it isn't wise to fight fire with fire?" Katara said, shaking her head. Aang looked at her and shook his head too, remembering just how bad Katara's jokes were.

Zuko bottled the dry anger bubbling inside of him and proceeded to take off his shirt. He took his hands and began to heat the fabric until the water in it had evaporated. He sighed. He thought Katara had had enough of soaking him the first time they'd met again. Apparently the progress wasn't as good as he'd thought.

Sokka proceeded to come out of the bushes with a spear in hand. "Hey has anyone seen a chicken-pig anywhere around here?"

Aang heaved a sigh, "Sokka it was you in the bushes? I lost my concentration and almost scorched Zuko!"

Sokka looked to Zuko who was still soaking wet, "He looks more wet than scorched to me."

"Katara put out the fireball with her waterbending so I got some of the water thrown on me." Zuko explained. He looked down and wondered whether or not his underwear was wet as well. _Yep._

"You know," Katara said, turning her attention to Zuko, "I could just waterbended the water out of your clothing."

He sighed, "It's okay, I think we can call it a day." He and Aang exchanged bows and continued back to the temple.

"So, Katara saved you?"

Zuko turned to his right and noticed that Sokka had managed to catch up to him on their walk back. The prince contemplated this notion for a moment then looked back to the Watertribe boy, "I guess she did, didn't she?"

When they reached the temple, the sun had already started to make its way down the mountains and out of the sky. Zuko could feel his strength declining and he was ready to just go ahead and sleep. It had, after all, been an incredibly long day. Not to mention the uncomfortable feeling of water squishing inbetween his toes.

After a short meal composed of the leftovers from breakfast, the group went their own separate ways. The gang of Haru, the Duke and Teo went off into the common room to play Pai Sho, while Sokka and Aang went to the small pond behind the temple to skip stones. The two boys had invited Zuko to accompany them, but at this Zuko declined. He wasn't too interested in skipping stones for one, and he also wasn't in the mood to stay awake.

Instead, the young prince made his way to his room but noticed the sound of voices speaking in the room a few doors down from his. A gentle flicker of light emanated from the room as the silhouette of two girls cast itself onto the walls. He paused. _Did someone mention his name?_

He cautiously approached the room, making sure that his feet didn't make a sound. He had so grown accustomed to listening to his sister talk to her friends that he'd become an expert on how to eavesdrop--especially on girls.

"I don't know," a voice started, "I still don't think we can trust him."

"Give him a break," another voice replied, "he may be a complete dork but he's not evil."

Zuko edged closer to the room and saw that Katara and Toph were sitting on their beds talking to each other. Surely another session of "girl talk", he noted.

Katara sighed, "He's not even quick enough to defend himself from a firebending attack, how are we expected to fight with this guy if he hasn't even mastered his own element?"

"Well, from what Aang told me, you kind of reacted a little fast. He also told me that you're still horrible with jokes." Toph replied, crossing her arms.

The waterbending girl rolled her eyes, "Well he's the last person around who can firebend, I can't exactly let him get hurt now can I?"

"Whatever you say sugar queen, I still think you're being too hard on him."

Katara puckered sourly, "You just don't know what he's done. Done to me _personally_."

Zuko frowned a bit, and turned away from the dimly lit room. _But I do. _


	5. Brothers

Wow! Another chapter already? Yeah I'm getting them out rather quickly but I just don't want this tale to become obsolete before it's even done! Haha, but no really, I've tried to make the chapters a bit longer...and this one I got to around 1188 I think? Writing a lot is serious business. Anyway, this chapter I am warning you contains some deviation from what the characters may do. At the end of "The Western Air Temple", Sokka was still feeling unsure about talking to Zuko, but as we all know he's started to warm up to the guy...but enough to do the following? Well, you decide D.  
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**5. Brothers **

When Zuko turned he noticed that Sokka had been close by. He didn't know for how long.

"Why are you still awake?" Sokka asked.

Zuko shrugged, "I heard voices coming from the hallway, some saying my name."

Sokka smiled, "That's my baby sister for you."

"Where's Aang?" Zuko asked, noticing the airbender wasn't present.

This prompted a shrug from Sokka, "He's showing off his Pai Sho skills to the Duke. I'd say he's probably going to be a richer Avatar by the end of the night if he's raising bets."

"Your sister has a problem with me." Zuko said, quite dryly. He wasn't exactly sure what else to say to Sokka at that moment and it had been the first thing that had come to his mind. She was after all, sceptical about his competence in firebending and in trustworthiness as a whole. He realised that the death threat she'd shot at him wasn't bothering him as much as the fact that she'd said it. And even this revelation he'd come up with him, he couldn't understand. "But I can't say I blame her."

Sokka snorted, "Your sister has a problem with me. And I can't say I blame her, but I have a bigger problem with her, I promise."

"I have a problem with my sister too, but who doesn't?" Zuko replied, looking down.

"I'm thinking about going out and catching something to eat from the pond, you with me?" Sokka asked, proudly showing his fishing equipment.

"Night-fishing?" Zuko asked, raising a brow.

"Fish are stupider at night, or something like that." Sokka replied, handing Zuko a fishing rod.

"I'm really bad at fishing." The prince said, looking down at the crudely constructed fishing rod complete with makeshift fishing line (seemingly made from old yarn...or hair).

"I know."

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The two boys sat on the edge of the pond in the silence of night, waiting for fish to bite on the lines. They had baited their hooks with tiny worms they had found wriggling in the shallow pits of soil outside the temple. So far, no fish had come to bother them nor did any of them seem to be hungry.

"I thought you said fish were stupider at night." Zuko said, jostling the fishing rod. He was growing impatient of waiting for fish, and since he rarely tried fishing on his own, he couldn't say he was incredibly experienced at it either. Nor did he know whether or not "waiting" was the regular routine of fishing. He chuckled softly, _uncle would enjoy this._

"Shh, you'll scare the fish!" Sokka exclaimed, shushing him quite loudly.

Zuko narrowed his eyes, "The fish are nonexistent."

"They'll come around," Sokka began, "but...I confess, I kind of wanted to ask you about something that's been bothering me."

Zuko's eyes widened, "What?"

Sokka put his fishing rod down on the soft patch of earth beside him. "When you were still in the Fire Nation, did you ever come across a prisoner...named Suki? She has blue eyes like mine and she has kind of this reddish brownish orangey hair--if you've seen her." Sokka said, making strange movements around his head to emphasize the appearance of hair.

"No...I can't say I have. But, I didn't really know what happened to many prisoners of our country. I only really ever paid attention to my uncle, Iroh." Zuko looked down into the water. He faintly visualized the reflection of his uncle in the ripples. Uncle chained behind bars. Zuko remembered how bitterly he had yelled at his uncle and how he'd told him that he had everything he had ever wanted...when he hadn't had anything he'd needed.

"So, no Suki huh?" Sokka asked again, shoulders sagging.

"No...I'm sorry."

Sokka heaved a sigh and shook his head lightly, "It's okay. Azula told me that she'd encountered a Kyoshi warrior and that she was a prisoner of the war...and told me some other things I didn't like to hear..." He looked up into the sky and awaited Zuko's reply with an empty expression on his face.

"Azula always lies and manipulates people into thinking what she wants them to. You should have hope for her, but...who is this Suki?" Zuko asked.

"I guess...she's my girlfriend." Sokka replied, quickly bowing his head down into the ground and away from the sky.

"How can you _guess_ that she's your girlfriend?" Zuko asked, mildly little annoyed. For the last few days, he had been trying to put his own girlfriend, Mai, out of his mind. And the note he'd left her. He wasn't sure whether or not she'd choose to support him in the choice he had made to join the Avatar. After all, he was truly banished from the Fire Nation now and there would be no turning back for him--ever. He realised now how foolish it was of him to leave without speaking personally to her but he didn't have a choice. After he had confronted his father, he was automatically a traitor and that didn't leave him much time to explain. He reluctantly wondered how bad she would've taken his letter, or how cowardly she would think him to be now.

"It's complicated." Sokka finally said, shaking Zuko out of his thoughts. "Is it possible to love two girls at once? Even if one of them...may not be physically on Earth but on the moon...or be the moon?"

Zuko's face contorted with confusion.

"Never mind." the Watertribe boy quickly replied, sounding quite certain that the prince probably thought him to be insane.

"I can't say I've ever really liked two girls at once..." He started, unsure of whether or not he was telling the truth. Although the only girl who came to mind now was Mai, there had been a time where he had started a small relationship with an Earth Kingdom girl named Jin. He smiled and thought of the dumplings he'd shared with her, and the dumplings that Katara had given him in the morning. "But come to think of it...maybe I have. But now I think I have a question for you, Sokka."

"What is it?"

"Why do you, Aang and Toph trust me? Your sister thinks I'm an incompetent firebender who doesn't even know my own element, and she doesn't trust me at all. I've done a lot of horrible things to all of you in the past, made some very unwise decisions and I just want to know why I've deserved your forgiveness." Zuko asked. He fidgeted a bit with the end of the fishing pole and noticed that the poles were made of bamboo. He now wondered where Sokka had gotten the materials to make the poles, but that was a question for another day.

Sokka sighed and leaned back. "To be honest, you really don't deserve our forgiveness. But, I trust Toph when she says you're a good guy, and I believe her when she tells me that you're not lying about being good. As for Aang...he's just a very forgiving guy. He told us once before that we had to be able to accept the fact that everyone has a bit of good to them, and I'm sure he thinks you're not an exception. As for Katara, I think those problems she has with you may be better answered from her than me. But are there any other questions before we end this man to man learning session?"

"Yeah, uh...does your sister like tea?"


	6. Mushi's Oolong Tea

Well this is my next chapter! Mostly I don't do very long epic sagas so expect shorter chapters. I promise I am building up to something here, if you've got the patience haha. Granted, I guess I make a big deal about tea in this chapter...but it's important. Eventually! Anyway, my friend gave me the most INCREDIBLE song the other day and I just had to share it with everyone. It's called "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez and I swear to you that it is EXACTLY what everyone Zutara shipper HAS to listen to.

**6. Mushi's Oolong Tea**

"So...what is it?" An incredibly inquisitive airbender asked as he poked around Zuko's supplies. Zuko had asked Aang if they could take a tiny break from training so he could have a bit of time to ready something. Something "special" he said.

"It's this tea my uncle taught me to make when we ran a tea shop in Ba Sing Se. He called it 'Mushi's Oolong Tea'." Zuko replied, trying his best to impersonate his uncle again. And still slightly failing at it.

"Sparky what you cooking up?"

Zuko looked down and noticed that Toph had also decided to show up out of her own curiousity. He explained to her what he had told Aang about the tea and the tea shop. He noticed that when he mentioned his uncle, Toph's expression grew softer.

"So, what happened to your uncle?" She asked.

Zuko sighed, "I tried to rescue him from the prison in the Fire Nation, but he was already gone before I could. The prison guard told me he escaped by himself."

She frowned, "So you don't know where he is."

He shook his head, "No." Zuko silently contemplated where his uncle could have gone. It was hard for him to deviate any thoughts his uncle could have had because he rarely paid attention to what his uncle was saying. And he had regularly practiced that until it was almost too late. He looked to Toph again, but she didn't look like she had an answer.

"Are you cooking?" Sokka was at the door and chewing on a piece of stale bread in his hand. He casually walked over to the table and began inspecting Zuko's tea pots and bags of tea leaves. "Because if you are, I am kind of hungry."

"No, I'm actually blending tea leaves and steeping tea." Zuko replied, giving Sokka a glimpse into the tea pot.

"So you mean you actually carried all this equipment on your way here?" Sokka asked, pointing at the massive array of materials on the table with a bewildered look on his face.

Zuko smiled, "I thought my uncle would be with me. He really likes tea."

The prince put the dried leaves into the pot and heated the water inside another jug with his hands. He then poured the boiling water into the pot from a significant height above the leaves. The gang curiously watched as the leaves in the pot slowly drifted up, and the water swirled gently with the leaves to create a golden blend. Iroh had once told Zuko that the water and the leaves had to hit at the perfect height and speed for the tea to taste just right.

"What's going on?" A voice asked. The gang turned around and noticed that Katara had walked into the room without anyone noticing. Zuko nervously put down the jug of water and unknowingly spilled its contents all over the floor. Aang quickly waterbended the liquid back into the jug.

"Zuko's making tea for us." Aang replied, smiling faintly.

Katara remained expressionless. She walked closer to the table and looked at the pot Zuko had brewed the tea in. "What's this for?" She asked.

"I...wanted to thank you for cooking for us, so I decided to share the tea my uncle used to serve in Ba Sing Se with everyone." He replied, slightly stuttering. Slowly, he took the pot and began pouring the tea into small tea cups he had found in the temple. He handed the first cup to Katara, and proceeded to give the rest of the cups to the gang.

Teo, the Duke and Haru had noticed that nobody was present in the common area and let themselves into Zuko's room. The prince gladly handed them each a cup of the tea and waited.

"Hey Katara, it looks like one of the leaves in your tea is standing." Aang said, pointing at her cup. One of the tiny leaves in Katara's tea floated so that a bit of the leaf was still in the water while the rest of it floated above the surface.

"You're right Aang, it does." Katara replied, poking at the leaf.

"My uncle used to tell me that if a leaf in your tea looks like its standing, it's the sign of a good omen." Zuko added, sipping his tea slowly.

Katara cautiously took a sip from her cup. She paused.

The tips of Zuko's fingers went slightly numb and every hair on his body stood on end, waiting in anticipation. He could feel his heart begin to race as nervous thoughts sped through his mind. She looked up.

"It's nice." She finally said, taking another cautious taste.

Zuko exhaled a sigh of relief and turned to Toph who also seemed to be quite content with the tea herself. Sokka and Aang were already finished with their cups and eagerly asked Zuko for more. The other three happily agreed.

When Zuko looked back to Katara, he was surprised to see that she had already left the room. He looked down and sighed. _At least it's a start. _

---

As the sun bid its farewell to the sky, bright hues of orange and yellow washed in between the darkening clouds above. Training was done for the day so Zuko decided he wanted to spend some time before dinner in front of the temple steps, watching the sun set. As he walked toward the front of the temple, he noticed that Katara had taken his place sitting in front of the pillars.

He stopped.

Slowly, Katara's head turned toward him until her face was in his full view.

"Hi." Zuko started, anxiously.

Katara turned away from him. "Am I in your spot?" She asked dryly.

"No. I mean yes, but it's okay." He replied, fumbling over his words. He carefully sat down a few feet away from her and looked toward the horizon. The sun had turned bright red and was setting behind the mountains, as the gentle evening breeze carried the distant scent of flowers in the forest.

They sat in silence for what seemed an eternity to Zuko. He knew didn't want to look at her because he was afraid. One part of him was afraid she'd give him another icy glare and another part of him was scared she'd simply storm off in an angry rage. It was best that he didn't provoke her to do any of these things.

"You didn't have to make the tea." She said, still not looking at him.

"I know, but I just thought it..."

"I do appreciate what you're doing, but it still doesn't mean I trust you." Katara added, standing up. "I have to start dinner. We're having your favourite meal tonight."

Zuko looked up at her.

"_Sea prunes_."

---

AN: The little myth that Zuko tells Katara is something I picked up as a child listening to my mother and grandmother. My mother's grandmother told her as a child that if a tea leaf looked like it was standing, it was the sign of "visitors" or good luck. Possibly visitors from good spirits. My grandmother told me it was the sign of a "good omen".


	7. Differences

So, Zuko engages in an extremely dangerous activity that I briefly reference "Bitter Work" in. Whether or not he'd be reckless enough to subject his young bending student to it, is up to you. A mothering Katara emerges once again and the gaang faces the number one problem that's keeping Zuko from feeling comfortable in the group.

---

**7. Differences **

Aang's progress in firebending was increasing at a rapid rate. This progress pleased Zuko and he was glad that Aang was soon going to be a master firebender. The thoughts of the ever-looming comet raced through Zuko's mind. Soon his father and sister would be incredibly powerful but he had to keep in mind that he too would become stronger as would Aang.

The progression in Aang's firebending skills prompted Zuko to ponder the possibility of teaching him how to redirecting lightning. He had only recently mastered the skill and was still a bit new at it but he figured the knowledge of the skill would be integral to winning the battle. His father was a master after all and he had proven this in their last meeting. Only a few weeks before Zuko would have not been able to deflect the attack but he had successfully redirected the current back at his father much to his father's surprise.

When the firebender walked outside, he noticed that the clouds in the morning sky had begun to crowd together and grow darker. He could smell it in the air; the moist smell of water just before rain. Zuko wondered whether or not lightning would accompany the rain.

"Are we still training today?" a familiar voice asked. Zuko turned and saw that Aang (and a suspicious lemur) had followed him outside from breakfast. Momo was perched upon Aang's shoulder and picking at the young airbender's clothing.

"It depends." Zuko replied, clearing his throat.

---

"This might be dangerous." Zuko warned, looking to his young pupil. Aang looked up at him and nodded. "Are you ready to try this?" The prince asked.

"I think so. So, how many times did you say you've done this before?" Aang asked, now slightly nervous.

Zuko paused for a moment, then nervously turned back to Aang. "Well, I've only really done this once before with my father but you're a far better learner than I ever was."

The two boys were situated on top of the highest peak in the forest. They had found a nice clearing that had was high enough for them to reach the lightning in the sky but also had a few large stones nearby that could serve as shelter against the rain. Zuko had showed Aang the same techniques his uncle had taught him before and the proper way of redirecting lightning without harming one's self. Since Aang was well practised in waterbending, he understood the principles that Zuko was teaching him and how it applied to lightning. Zuko had told him that water and fire had in a lot common with each other and how is uncle taught him this before he learned how to redirect lightning.

"So you're saying that redirecting lightning is a lot like waterbending?" Aang asked, making a fluid motion with his arms.

Zuko shrugged a bit, "Sort of, but I wouldn't really know since I can't bend water."

Suddenly, Zuko remembered the words his uncle had told him during one of their training sessions. Iroh had warned Zuko that lightning was a dangerous element to control and had deemed it dangerous to go looking for. The prince delved deeper into his thoughts and remembered the tortuous time he first had with lightning and how he had failed to properly release the energy in his attack. He then remembered how frightened he was with his father, even if he had been successful in defending himself.

As the two continued to stand in the rain, Zuko noticed that Aang was starting to shiver. As the water hit the little airbender's clothing, the fabric became increasingly darker and heavier on him. Zuko began to regret taking Aang out into the rain. He relaxed his stance and stood upright again.

"We should go inside. You seem cold and that could distract from your concentration." The prince said.

"No. I have to be able to do this. If Firelord Ozai is going to be shelling out lightning at me, I want to be able to defend myself against it." Aang replied, shooting a determined look at the firebender.

"Aang! Aang!"

Zuko and Aang quickly turned their heads back at the direction of the voice that was calling to them. Zuko immediately recognized the voice and knew that he might have been in for a lot of trouble.

Katara emerged from the shrubbery and immediately called out to them. "Aang! What are you doing out here? It's freezing and it's raining and you're shivering." She put her arm around him to warm him. Suddenly, she directed a nasty glare at Zuko. "What are you thinking? Toph told me you were out here teaching Aang how to redirect lightning! Are you crazy? That's possibly the most dangerous idea I've ever heard in my life! You could have both been killed!"

Aang sniffed a bit then looked to Katara, "No he's done it once before and his uncle taught him how to. It's a lot like waterbending."

"I've practised before and Aang needs to be able to do this in order to fight my father. He's a master firebender and incredibly experienced with lightning. I only brought up the idea because it'd be helpful for Aang to know!" Zuko cried, trying his best to defend himself.

"That doesn't take away from the fact it's dangerous!" Katara shrieked. She narrowed her eyes at the prince, "You risked Aang's life to teach him something you've only done once! I can't believe you. Come on Aang, we're going inside and you're going to get warm."

"But Katara, I have to be able to do this." Aang protested, fidgeting in Katara's arms. However, the waterbender was not listening to Aang's objections but was only concentrating all her anger at the firebending prince.

From a distance, Zuko followed Aang and Katara slowly back toward the temple.

---

"How is Aang?" Toph asked, inching closer to Sokka.

The Water Tribe boy sighed as he closed the door to Aang's room. "He'll be fine, he's just got a bit of a fever. As long as he gets enough rest I'm pretty sure he'll be back to his old 'Avatar-y' self in no time." He then directed his attention to the firebending prince sitting on the floor. "Were you really going to teach him how to redirect lightning?"

Zuko sighed, "My father and Azula both know how to attack with lightning. Learning how to redirect the attack is important but I should've thought better than to let Aang stand in the rain for so long."

Toph sighed, "You made a mistake. Big deal. I was harder on Aang with my training than you ever could have been."

"Katara didn't trust me to begin with, now I don't think she'll ever even _try_ to trust me again." Zuko replied, allowing his head sinking further past his knees.

"I'll talk to her." Sokka said. "She may understand if she can sort of understand where you're coming from."

"I already tried talking to her." Zuko said.

Sokka softly chuckled, "Yeah but _you_ were the one who was explaining."

---

Late into the night, Zuko sat quietly in Sokka's room, trying his best to listen to the conversation between a brother and a sister next door. Sokka had offered to defend Zuko on his behalf and to hopefully convince Katara that Zuko's intentions were admirable instead of endangering.

Through the walls, Zuko could hear the muffled shrieks of Katara's abhorrence for him. He sighed.

"I don't even know why you're defending him." Katara said, annoyance ringing sharply in her voice.

"I'm only defending him because I don't think he was trying to hurt Aang." Sokka replied.

Zuko noted that the two must have been pacing quite loudly around the room, judging by the sound of creaking in the floorboards.

"Everything we've done is to protect Aang from danger, not to throw him in it. And Zuko of all people is not someone we can trust. He's tried to be good before and he's failed, what makes you think he's any different this time?"

The sound of a boy sighing resonated between the walls, "Zuko would have protected Aang from the lightning if it got out of hand. He's the firebending teacher, I say we should at least have some faith in him."

"Everything everyone's been saying lately is that we can trust him again…but how can we know he's good this time around? He convinced me the last time he was good and he was obviously lying about it." Katara replied, even angrier than before.

"You have to stop letting personal reasons prevent you from believing in Zuko. Remember Jet?" Sokka calmly answered.

The prince perked his head up.

"Zuko isn't Jet. Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Zuko then heard the sound of footsteps angrily marching out of the room and the sound of door slamming behind them.

He heaved a sigh and looked down again.


	8. The Pond

Well, I gotta warn you, I use my artistic license in this chapter and delve deeper into the thoughts of both Zuko and Katara. And I must say, there may be SOME discrepancies with the show that deals with the Spirit Oasis water.  
---

**8. The Pond**

As the sun rose from the east and its shining light hit the windows of Zuko's room, for once in the firebender's life, he did not feel like waking up. He had spent the better half of the night tossing and turning trying to figure out ways to win Katara's favour. It seemed nearly impossible at this point.

Slowly, he wriggled out of bed and pulled on a clean shirt. He looked to the table in front of the windows and noticed he had forgotten to close his bag when he had taken his tea materials out. He slowly moved to the table and began to fasten it shut until he noticed a bag of tealeaves had fallen out.

The bag was actually a brand of herbal tea that his uncle had bought for him when he was training with him. The tea had been supposedly to "clear his mind", but he was certain his uncle was just drinking it for the sake of it. He contemplated about the way the tea had made him feel better when he was training and the love his uncle had given him during his training. Suddenly, he had the perfect idea.

---

With his left hand, Zuko knocked cautiously on the door to Aang's room. In his right hand, he was holding a tray of tea he brewed. Then after a brief moment, he let himself in. Katara was sitting next to Aang's bed, holding a warm towel and a cup of water. Aang was awake and sitting on his bed meditating. However, when the prince had walked in, the young airbender's eyelids flew open to greet him.

"Oh hey Zuko." Aang said, smiling lightly. "What are you doing here?"

Zuko hesitated. "I came to bring you some tea. It's what my uncle made when we were training."

Katara however, didn't look at him. Instead, she gently put the cup onto Aang's night table and the towel into a shallow basin of water near the bed. She got up and proceeded toward the door.

Zuko braced himself for a barrage of angry insults but was surprised when the waterbender walked curtly past him and out the door. _So now she's ignoring me._

"What kind of tea is it?" Aang asked, turning toward Zuko. "Is it the tea you made us last time?"

Slowly, the prince sat in the seat Katara had left and handed Aang a cup. "Actually, it's a brand of herbal tea my uncle brewed for me during our training."

The boy took a quick sip of the drink and fanned his burning tongue. "Kinda hot. But, it's good." He replied, taking another cautious sip.

Zuko chortled lightly and looked at Aang, "That's why you have to be careful." He turned away. "Katara is really mad, isn't she?"

Aang looked down and clasped the cup tightly in his hands, "She's just worried. That's all. She's always like this."

Zuko turned to the window and noticed that the sky was now overcast again. Tiny speckles of water spattered against the window and gradually, water began to well up against the windowpane. "It's raining again."

The tiny airbender directed his gaze to the window, "I don't think we'll be seeing any lightning anytime soon."

Zuko shook his head, "Probably not."

---

The gang sat in silence around the dining table. Katara had cooked a bit of rice and salted fish for everyone, and though everyone seemed to enjoy it, nobody spoke aloud. Zuko was enjoying the rice very much and was very tempted to thank Katara again for making another meal. However, he knew that this time, she would not be answering him at all.

Instead, Zuko looked to his airbending friend. Aang returned his gaze, smiled and cleared his throat. "Good fish tonight Katara." He said, quite proudly.

"Thank you," Katara began, putting down her bowl, "Sokka caught it in the pond out back." The prince snorted. _So the fish existed after all._

"I really liked the tea you gave me Zuko. It makes me feel really alert." Aang said, turning to the perplexed firebender.

Katara looked up at Aang for a minute, and then looked out the corner of her eye at Zuko. But before Zuko could even acknowledge her gaze, she quickly snapped her head back to her rice bowl.

"I'm glad you like it." Zuko replied, half smiling. Stealing a glance at Katara, he noticed she had stopped eating and had starting picking at the loose threads of her tunic. Turning away, he got up and started stacking up the empty bowls. Everybody casually let themselves away from the table.

Katara silently got up and helped stack the remainder of the dirty plates, then carefully put them into the washing basin. She took a scrub and began to work on the bits of rice stuck to the bowls.

Zuko took a sponge nearby and began to wash away the oil on the plates. After he was finished, he took the chopsticks and rubbed them quickly together in the water and was careful to watch for the dirty knives at the bottom of the basin.

When they were finished washing up, they dried their hands on a towel nearby. Zuko looked up at Katara but she did not look back.

The firebender watched as Katara slowly put down the towel and walk out the back door.

"Hey!" a voice called from behind him.

Zuko turned around. Toph was grinning madly at him and spinning a rock shaped like a ball. "Hey Princess, me and Aang were thinking about playing a game of _dodge ball_. You in?"

A shiver went through Zuko's body, "Um, no thanks."

"Suit yourself." Toph replied. "But Sokka's going to be our goalie."

"There aren't any goalies in dodge ball." The prince replied, slightly confused.

"_I know._" She replied, baring her teeth.

Zuko stepped back and proceeded out the door, trying his best not to trip over his own feet as he ran toward the exit. When he got outside, he made his way toward the clearing he and Sokka had visited to fish. He noticed that the moon was full in the sky and reflecting gently onto the pond's surface. The fishing rods he and Sokka had used were sitting by the tree beside the pond, and the fishing lines were tangled. Vigilantly, Zuko made his way toward the lines and noticed that someone was sitting beneath the tree.

He paused.

Under the swaying leaves, Katara was sitting in between the large curling roots of the tree. She had undone her hair and let the loose tendrils of her brown locks fall over her shoulders. It appeared that she was holding something in her hands. Cautiously, Zuko inched closer toward her and noticed that she was holding her mother's necklace. It looked like she was speaking to something.

Clumsily, Zuko unknowingly stepped on a branch near his feet. Katara's back straightened like a wire. _Well, I have two options now. Talk to her or run for it._

He knew that anything he could have said probably would not change how she felt about him but not saying anything would not help either.

Nervously, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "I know you still don't trust me, but I can't say that I blame you. I've done a lot of horrible things in the past and I've betrayed people that I cared for, and people that I loved. You may not believe me when I tell you that everything I told you in the prison in Ba Sing Se was the truth. And it wasn't up until now that I understood that what I was doing was truly wrong. I wanted something my father couldn't give me; I wanted something my status couldn't give me. What I did and how I betrayed _you_ was wrong. When I turned my back on my uncle, and chose to fight with Azula, Aang almost died. I know that because of me, the world's last chance for hope and peace was almost lost. Because of me, you almost lost a good friend. I understand your worry about Aang, and, how you're worried that I'll hurt him. I also understand why you don't want to speak to me, so I'll just…be on my way." The prince turned around to leave but before he could continue, a tiny voice interrupted him.

"What?" Zuko asked, slightly surprised Katara had spoken.

"You think everything is about you, don't you?" she began, remaining still. "You're a prince, why would I be surprised? I've trusted a lot of people in the past, and they've broken my faith in them. I once knew a boy whose parents had been killed by the Fire Nation. And I thought he was going to do something great for the Earth Kingdom but instead he almost killed the lives of hundreds of innocent people. But never have I trusted someone so much, whom I thought had gone through every single kind of hardship I had gone through, only to turn their back on me as if nothing I said had changed them. I offered to heal your scar because you had me _convinced_ that you'd changed—but you clearly hadn't. I almost gave up the Spirit Oasis water for you, and if I had, Aang would have died. It's not that I can't trust you, but maybe I don't _want_ to." Katara slowly got up and walked toward Zuko, moonlight shining softly on her.

Briefly, Katara stood no more than two feet in front of him, looking deeply into his face almost as if she were looking straight through him. An eerie chill went through Zuko's body.

And just as quickly as she'd come to him, she turned away and vanished into the darkness of the forest.

---  
AN: Okay, so my major concern was with the Spirit Oasis water. Kay guys, to my knowledge Katara doesn't know that the scar Zuko has would have _NEVER _been healed by the water because it only heals **SPIRITUAL **injuries. However, even **if** she only found out about this LATER, and IF she **HAD** used the water all the water on Zuko it would have been **WASTED** and Aang would have died anyway. Making it even worse!! So, try to read it as that, okay? Haha my gawd writers ruin everything interviews don't they? bitter mutter But yes.

Also big thanks goes out to Limnhere for helping me screen all of this and edit. You are AWESOME.


	9. Laughter

I really have no excuse except for the fact I was working on artwork during the time I could have been writing. Sindeedee. check it out! New Zutara artwork of course ). Anyway, This chapter starts out with a flashback. I promised to never do flashbacks once upon a time...but I think this was necessary and you'll see why later. Also, don't kill me for the cheese, we all know how Zuko is when he's in love. Ha ha.

---

**9. Laughter**

_As the sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky, Mai and Zuko decided to enjoy the weather by sitting outside on the balcony. Zuko had asked the chefs to prepare lunch for them and deliver it to the veranda. The cooks came back with a stack of steamer baskets in hand and a teapot. Carefully, they were served their tea._

_Mai lifted a lid to one of the baskets and groaned. "Dumplings? How dull." She put down the lid and then lifted a lid to another basket. "Fruit tarts!" Smiling gently, she tapped the prince's hand and held it in hers._

_Zuko laughed. "What's wrong with dumplings? They're delicious and beautiful."_

"_Beautifully boring you mean." She replied, rolling her eyes._

"_They're beautiful, like you." He said, faintly smiling._

_--- _

"Toph not now." Sokka groaned, pushing the tiny earthbender away. The Water Tribe boy was simply too busy nursing his bruises to pay attention to her and he had a lot of bruises that needed nursing. Toph made a made a face and walked away.

"Don't you know the rules to dodge ball Sokka?" Haru asked, raising a brow at the unruly amount of purple blotches across Sokka's body. "You're supposed to dodge."

"I couldn't, I was their goalie." Sokka replied, groaning now at his swelling feet. "Why didn't you come and join us yesterday Zuko?"

Zuko turned to Sokka and shrugged, "I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to spend my time by the pond yesterday."

"Katara sits there sometimes." Sokka replied, rubbing his feet.

"I know. I ran into her. It looked like she was talking to someone."

Sokka nodded, "She was talking to mom."

"Your mother? But isn't she—"

"Sometimes Katara spends time by herself and asks mom about stuff that's bothering her." Sokka answered, lowering his head. "She asks mom for advice and guidance."

Zuko remembered that Katara had been holding her mother's necklace when she was by the tree. He sighed and wished he hadn't bothered her privacy. Especially not with the speech he had given her. Even after she had lectured him, he still wasn't quite sure what to make of what she said. He understood that she had trusted him, but he wasn't sure the degree in which her trust had been laid. There were so many things he didn't understand about her. The only thing he knew was the risk she took for him, but even that he couldn't quite understand.

Sokka got up and staggered to the common area. Aang was sitting around the Pai Sho table playing another game with Teo and the Duke. Aang was of course winning and the others were undoubtedly losing. From the kitchen, Zuko could hear the disgruntled squeals of the Duke and Teo's indifferent chuckles.

As the noon sun rose further up the sky, Katara emerged from hallway and into the kitchen. She donned a makeshift apron made out of scrap cloth and began washing her hands in a still bucket of water nearby, making sure to scrub her hands with soap. Zuko watched as she moved toward the table to start cooking.

"Need help?" Zuko cautiously asked, wondering if she'd answer.

She turned around briefly to face him, and then slowly turned back to the table. _Guess not._ Regardless, Zuko got up and walked toward her. It appeared that Katara was preparing red amaranth leaves. Carefully, Zuko took a few stalks and began to pull the stems apart like Katara was, then dunked them into a shallow basin of water to clean them.

Together in silence, Katara and Zuko worked to pull the stems and clean the leaves of the amaranth plants.

When the cleaning had been finished, Katara bended clean water into a pot. Zuko put his hands at the bottom of the pot and began to heat it with the palms of his hands. When the water had begun to boil, Katara dropped the leaves slowly into the pot and closed the lid. She looked at him.

For a moment, Zuko thought that she would say something to him. He carefully looked at the corners of her mouth and wondered if she'd ever move her lips to say anything. However, just as it appeared that she was going to talk to him, the lid of the pot began to move as the steam pushed past it. She turned away from him and minded the pot instead.

He sighed.

When they had finished preparing the meal, Katara walked into the common room to call the rest of the gang. As Katara walked back, the group eagerly ran past her and to their chairs.

Zuko served everyone a bowl of rice and placed the cooked red amaranth leaves on the table. He then went to heat a pot of tea to serve with the meal.

Sokka looked at his bowl and made a face, "What are these? They taste like shoe polish." He said, groaning at the leaves while picking at them cautiously with his spoon.

"And I suppose you've tasted shoe polish before?" Katara replied, raising a brow. "They're red amaranth leaves. It wouldn't kill you to eat some vegetables instead of just meat all the time Sokka."

The Water Tribe boy sighed, pinched his nose and shoved a spoonful in his mouth.

When everybody had finished, Zuko and Katara were left alone once more in the kitchen. The prince was washing the dirty bowls and plates in the washing basin and Katara was wiping down the table with a cloth.

Zuko stood up for a minute and turned to Katara. She stopped and looked up at him.

Slowly, the firebender proceeded toward Katara. "You know I—" But before he could finish he had landed on the ground with a great 'thud!' Groaning, the prince stood up again only to fall on his bottom once more. Looking around, the prince noticed that he'd left the bar of soap on the ground and now there were two great shoe prints on it. He looked at his shoes and noticed the bottoms were glossy and covered in suds. "Aww…my shoes are soapy." He said, sighing.

When he looked up he noticed that Katara was smiling, or was she giggling? No, she was laughing at him! Zuko made a face and carefully tried to stand up again. He grabbed the edge of the table and tried to regain his balance. "Are you laughing at me?" he asked.

Katara looked away from him, smiling. "I could be."

Zuko always found that he was great at making girls laugh at him. There had been two times in Ba Sing Se where he had embarrassed himself miserably. Once with Jin and another time with Mai. With Jin, he had lied about being in the circus, only to be covered in his dinner after attempting to juggle it. With Mai, an icicle had almost decapitated him. Both girls had giggled unrelentingly at his misfortune. This time was no different.

The prince grabbed a chair at the table and sat down. He pulled off his shoes and stood up again, holding his shoes in his hands.

"Do you need me to wash those?" Katara asked, her voice lacking compassion.

"I'll be fine." Zuko replied, walking out of the room.

_Well, at least she's talking to me._

_--- _

AN: So what ARE Red Amaranth leaves? They're a type of vegetable found in South Africa and sometimes even Asia. Red Amaranth is a really bitter vegetable that can be stewed like Spinach. The end result is a bitter sometimes neutral (VERY NEUTRAL) tasting vegetable that is sometimes...really purple. Sokka has reason not to like it. Really he does. _  
_


	10. Storage Room

Sparks? WHAT? OMG REALLY? Anyway, I can't say much about this chapter except you may have to grant some leeway to the progression of emotions? How about how Sokka's taste in food? Well we shall see D.

---

**10. Storage Room**

"Sokka, get off the floor please." A frustrated Katara requested, looking down at her brother who was writhing on the ground.

"It gave me food poisoning!" A disgruntled Water Tribe boy cried as he clutched his stomach in pain. The boy's sister looked down at him and raised a brow.

"I doubt it. The leaves weren't raw and everyone else seems to be okay." She replied, turning to the rest of the group. Everyone looked at Sokka with raised eyebrows and unconvinced glowers. Sighing, the gang continued doing what they were doing before. Sokka frowned and continued wriggling on the floor in mock pain.

"Can you please make something else for dinner tonight sis?" Sokka asked, almost begging. Ashamed at seeing her brother so pathetic, Katara shrugged and made for the kitchen.

Zuko had been sitting in the kitchen reading an old book his uncle had given him in Ba Sing Se. It was an old book full of cooking recipes his uncle had planned on using for the tea shop. Zuko had taken some time off of training Aang and decided to investigate the book. After all, he had left it discarded for the last few months and had been curious of what was inside it. He was so absorbed into the recipes that he didn't even notice Katara had walked in.

"What are you reading?"

The prince looked up in surprise and was even more surprised that the person speaking to him was Katara. "Just a book my uncle gave me. It has recipes that he was going to use when we were in Ba Sing Se."

She opened her hand so Zuko could place the book in her grasp. Carefully, she turned the pages of the old book, scanning every page thoroughly. Suddenly, she stopped and put the book on the table.

"Chicken-pig dumplings and fried mushroom dumplings. Perfect." She said, smiling with self satisfaction.

"What?" Zuko asked, looking at her in confusion.

Katara looked at him then turned back to the book. She picked it up and moved over to the cooking table.

"What?" Zuko repeated, impatiently waiting for her answer.

"We're out of flour." She said, irritation ringing in her voice. "There should be some in the storage room. It's a bit dark down there though."

"Need a light?" Zuko offered, snapping his fingers like a lighter.

Katara looked at him and raised a brow. "Okay."

Zuko and Katara began their way down the hall and when they had reached the end of it, Katara stopped in front of a narrow door and opened it. Slowly, she began to walk down the dark steps and held firmly to the railing. Zuko followed her, one hand clutching to the railing and another held out behind Katara in case she fell.

"What was that?" she asked, hissing at the creak of the stairs.

"Your feet? Or an elephant-rat maybe?" Zuko suggested, carefully guiding his hand beside them like a torch.

As they reached the bottom of the steps, Katara glared at Zuko. "Are you comparing me to an elephant-rat?"

The firebender gulped. "No!"

Katara narrowed her eyes at him then beckoned him to follow her. She carefully browsed the shelves and knelt down beside a mysterious jar of what appeared to be flour. "This seems right." She picked it up and inspected the label.

Zuko moved his hand down to illuminate the writing on the jar. "Do you know how old that is?" He asked, wondering how long the temples had been abandoned and what the expiry date of flour was.

"Do you want to eat tonight?" she replied, smirking.

Zuko rolled his eyes but immediately stopped when he noticed Katara was still looking at him. She slowly got up and faced him.

"It's actually flour we bought in the Fire Nation," Katara began, "so you won't have to worry about your royal tummy. I just stored it down here in case we needed it again."

In the dark, only the fire from Zuko's fingers could shed light on the things around him. Whatever the light touched would glow a soft orange. The jar of flour. The bags of rice on the ground. Katara.

They stood in front of each other, motionless for what seemed like minutes. Zuko wondered if he was in her way and if she was waiting for him to move. He couldn't be sure because she hadn't said anything. Or was she doing that thing where girls expected boys to do something without being told? He briefly meditated on that.

"I...I..." He started, slightly stuttering. "I'm in your way?"

Katara hesitated then looked down, "No...I was going to say something but I forgot."

"Oh..." Zuko replied, scratching his head.

"We should go back upstairs. It's kind of cold down here." Katara answered, ushering Zuko forward.

"Are you cold because I can heat you or make you warmer, I mean make it warmer in here?" Zuko put his hand over his face and sighed. His face was hot.

Katara shook her head. "No, that's okay. We should start dinner."

"We?"

"Dinner isn't going to start itself is it?" She replied, half smiling.

_We.  
---_

"Smells great Katara!" A very content airbender chirped as he stuffed a fried dumpling in his mouth. Katara patted his back and stood up to hand the Duke another plate.

"Thank you Aang," Katara replied, turning to Sokka, "and how is it for you Mr. Poisoned Lunch?"

The Water Tribe boy grinned. "Great! Now _this_ is what I'm talking about."

Aang narrowed his eyes and turned to Toph. "I don't really get it. Sokka couldn't stand the Amaranth leaves but he can eat a boat load of Sea Prunes?" The two shivered in disgust.

Katara looked to Zuko who also seemed to enjoy the meal. Zuko met her gaze and nodded happily. She faintly smiled and sat down.

There was a time in the Fire Nation where Zuko had enjoyed chicken-pig dumplings but it had been different. Different than this.

---

The prince lay in his bed and looked up at the ceiling, counting ridges and bumps the paint had made when it had first covered the surface. He couldn't sleep and no amount of koala-sheep counting could help him. He tossed off the blankets and shuffled toward the kitchen. _If I can't sleep, maybe a cup of tea will help._

Silently, Zuko walked toward the cooking table and picked up a pot of water. He heated the pot and carefully poured the boiling water into a cup with tealeaves.

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked.

Zuko sharply turned around and dropped the boiling water on his hand. "OW!" He screamed and immediately a hand cupped his mouth.

It was Katara. She looked at him and shook her head disapprovingly. "Keep it down." She said, removing her hand from his face.

He sighed and put the cup on the table, then turned to nurse the hand he had hurt.

"Sorry I surprised you. I didn't know you were making tea." Katara looked at the pot of water. "Here, I'll heal it." She bended the water that spilled on the ground and held it above his hand. Slowly the redness in his hand began to fade and his hand immediately felt cooler.

"Thank you." Zuko replied, blinking in confusion.

"I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd get a drink." Katara answered, turning away from him.

Zuko shrugged, "I couldn't sleep either, so I thought I'd have a cup of tea to calm myself. My uncle used to make tea for me when I couldn't sleep and it helped so..."

The waterbender smiled, "You don't have to explain, I understand."

"So...do you want...tea?" The prince offered, holding up his cup.

"Sure."

While Zuko prepared another cup of tea, Katara sat at the dining table waiting. When he had finished, he brought the cup to Katara and placed it in her hands. She clasped the cup tightly and held it to her lips. She breathed in deeply and turned to him. "I do like the smell of tea."

Zuko chuckled softly, "Yeah, so do I." He grabbed a chair and sat across from her.

"Your tea." Katara said, pointing at his cup.

The prince looked down and noticed that a leaf in his cup was bobbing up and down as if it were jumping. When the water calmed, the leaf stood upright. "Well, I guess I'm in for some good luck." He replied, happily. "I'll need it." He quickly added.

Katara looked out the window and smiled, "The moon looks nice tonight."

Zuko turned his head toward the light of the moon, "Yeah. It does." When he looked back he noticed Katara had been staring at him. She quickly turned from him and swiftly got out of her chair.

"Thanks for the tea. I think I'll head back to my room. I'm feeling kind of tired now." She handed him her empty cup and briskly pushed in her chair.

"Oh, okay. Goodnight." Zuko answered, standing up as well.

"Goodnight." She replied.

---

AN: Chicken-pigs and Elephant-rats do actually exist in the Avatar world. I have seen pictures ). Also, Zuko seems to like dropping hot water on himself whenever Katara's around. Hehe. Oh Zuzu. Also everyone, since tomorrow is technically the day where the new episode starts, expect to see many new updates within the night and possibly early day tomorrow.


	11. Moonlight

This was written before "The Firebending Masters" so forgive me 8). Anyway, I leave this chapter off with a blunter note. So forgive me. Also, took a little plot device from Kanon 2006. Thank you Ayu x Yuuichi! I was listening to a lot of the Dexter soundtrack when writing this. I suggest Daniel Licht's stuff to get you in the mood 8). He's got clips on his website that are really worth the listening. So go check that out!**  
**

**11. Moonlight**

As the sun began to rise, a weary firebender dragged his body out of bed. Even with the tea he had drank the night before, he found it difficult to sleep. His bones ached and his eyelids drooped. Finally able to stand, he moved toward the mirror in his room. His eyes were nothing but slits and his face sagged with fatigue.

He yawned, extended his arms outward and looked outside the window. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and the sounds of cheery birds filled the room as Zuko opened the latch of the window. A tiny bird pranced onto the ledge of the window and looked curiously up at Zuko. The bird then chirped happily at the prince, jumping up and down in delight. He had never seen a bird so happy to see him since the turtle ducks at the palace. Zuko looked around his table and found a piece of bread Toph had left when she and Aang had played cards during one of their breaks. He slowly ripped a tiny piece of it and placed it next to the bird. Sensing the presence of food, the bird chirped and jumped toward the bread to peck at it. Suddenly a whole group of birds landed on the ledge and began to peck at the bread Zuko had not ripped. The prince quickly closed the window and let the birds eat alone.

_I guess animals really like me. The ducks, the bison now the birds?_ Zuko thought, walking out of his room and into the hallway. As he turned toward the common room he noticed that Katara had just walked out of her room. He instinctively looked to her and wished her a 'good morning'.

She looked back at him and then looked to the floor. Slowly, she moved toward him and greeted him. When their greetings had been exchanged, the two looked at each other then away. Zuko wasn't quite sure why he couldn't find anything to say to her, and although he usually stumbled over his words in her presence, at least he knew what he wanted to say.

"Thank you for helping me with dinner last night." Katara said, breaking the silence between them. She stepped forward and looked up at him warmly.

The prince smiled and turned his gaze away from her, "It's not a problem. I enjoy helping around and helping you. I like to cook." He replied, his voice thin and slightly trembling.

Katara nodded and turned when the sound of footsteps drew near them. Both benders turned around to see that Aang had wandered out from the common area and had been standing by them while they were speaking to each other.

The waterbender walked to Aang and lightly put her arm around him, "Did you have breakfast yet? I put out a few of the left over dumplings into a bowl on the table this morning. Unless Sokka has gotten to them—"

It was then that Zuko noticed just how motherly Katara could be at times. There was that word again: _Mothered_. Although she had stopped nagging him since she the time she had supervised him and Aang, the prince felt that Katara couldn't stop herself from throwing care upon others. Whether it was a pat on the back, a gentle embrace, or prodding into the business of others, nurturing and compassion were traits glued to Katara. It had been a while since Zuko could remember anyone being so caring as if they were a mother. _His mother_.

The airbender walked off toward the kitchen with Katara following him. She turned around and looked at Zuko again but this time she was smiling.

Slowly, the prince followed her lead and into the kitchen. Sokka was leaning back dangerously in a chair chewing a dumpling in his hand while Aang and Toph went to eat by the table. Teo, the Duke and Haru had comfortably parked themselves at the end of the table to play with the carks Toph and Aang had lent them. Zuko moved toward a chair in front of Sokka and reached for a dumpling from the bowl. The Water Tribe boy suspiciously looked at the prince as he picked up the dumpling, then turned away.

"Katara seems to be less angry at you now." Sokka said, quite offhandedly. He looked at his sister then back to the prince who seemed quite surprised.

Zuko perked his head up, "Is she?"

Sokka shrugged and leaned forward, bringing the chair back down to the ground. "Yeah, but wouldn't you be able to tell?" He moved his head closer to Zuko's and raised a brow in inquiry. "Well?"

The prince moved back and wondered. Had she? He turned his gaze to where Katara was standing. She was propped up against the cooking table and looking through the recipe book Zuko had been reading. He noticed that the sunlight from the window behind her made the back of her head glow warmly. Seeing that the firebender had been looking at her, Katara looked up at him with a small smile. Zuko's face relaxed as he turned back to Sokka.

"I guess so."

"It's kind of strange actually. She still refuses talk about you. It must be that weird kind of girl stuff." Sokka offered, chomping on the last dumpling.

Now Zuko was confused. Weird girl stuff? He purposefully shot Sokka a look of confusion but was even more frustrated when Sokka simply shrugged and walked away. Zuko looked back to Katara who was now playing cards. He sighed and rested his head on the table. Even after months of having a girlfriend, he sadly still didn't understand girls.

---

When everyone had finished breakfast, Aang raced Haru to the door with Toph and Sokka closely following behind them. Today would be one of the last days Zuko would be training with Aang. The time for attack was near and though everyone tried their best to put it out of their minds, another fight was an impending reality.

Zuko walked to the open door and leaned against the side of it. He looked out to all the friends he had made, and all the friends he would soon be fighting with. Aang was happily bending rocks with Haru and Toph, while the Duke and Teo investigated flora and fauna near the edge of the fountain. Taking another look around, he noticed that Katara hadn't gone out with them. Suddenly, he felt the presence of someone behind him. Sure enough, Katara had been standing with him the whole time.

"Oh, hi." Zuko said, turning to greet her.

Katara walked to his side and looked up at him. "So...we're going to have to start preparing for the next invasion soon."

The prince nodded, "Yeah. I suppose we will." He clenched his fists and looked down solemnly.

"Hey, I know said it was a bad idea but, I think teaching Aang how to redirect lightning would...be a good idea. I don't know how long it'd take but, I see now that it may be something to...keep an interest in." Katara said, fidgeting with the strap on her left glove.

Zuko looked to her in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"It's still dangerous," she began, "but if it's important for Aang to know then he should know it. And I...I think he'd be okay if you were around."

"Th-Thank you." Zuko replied, slightly dumbfounded. "I know how you do worry about Aang and I promise to make sure he's safe."

"Now don't make me a promise you can't keep." She answered slyly, but they both knew she was being serious. Katara held out her right hand and stuck out her little finger.

The prince looked down at her extended hand and looked up at her in uncertainty.

"Promise?" She asked again. Zuko extended his left hand and wrapped his little finger around hers.

"I Promise." He answered, and they let their hands gracefully fall to their sides.

---

After dinner and when the sun began to set, Zuko knew where he wanted to go immediately. He walked into the kitchen and prepared 'Mushi's Oolong Tea' then put the teapot and cups on a tray. Carefully and slowly, he walked out the backdoor of the temple and down to the pond.

Zuko knew that Katara would sit by the tree by the pond. He also knew that this was important time spent for her. When he drew near, Katara heard his shallow footsteps and turned around. She put her necklace back on and got up to greet him.

Zuko uneasily walked toward her and nearly slipped on the wet grass. He managed to regain his balance and stood upright on the edge of the pond. "I made you some tea to apologize for interrupting you the last time I was here...I didn't know you were talking to someone important." He said, handing her a cup then placing the tray on the ground.

The waterbender shook her head, "It's all right. You didn't know." She held the cup firmly in her grasp and took a sip. "Is this what you made the other day?"

The firebender nodded and took a sip of tea himself, "Yes."

Katara motioned for Zuko to sit down with her. "You really like tea, don't you?" She said as he sat.

The prince chuckled softly and put his cup down, "I didn't before but, I think my uncle must have changed my mind. But um, am I interrupting you now?" he asked, worried he was taking away from Katara's time again.

However to this, Katara shrugged and smiled. "No, you're not but this is really the first time anyone has ever come to sit with me."

"Oh I see. Were you talking to—" The prince started.

"Yes. I was."

"Were you—"

"Asking advice?" She replied eyes fixated on the water. "Mom helps me when I'm confused. I ask her to tell me what to do, and how to feel sometimes. How to know if what I'm doing is right...or wrong. When I don't ask her, I always end up lost."

Zuko looked to her and followed her gaze to the pond. The moonlight hit the pools of water gently as turtle ducks nearby gently rippled the water. The prince was surprised that turtle ducks had made their way to the Western Air Temple, and then noticed a lone duck was swimming toward him. As the tiny bird made its way onto land, it headed toward Zuko's shoe only to peck at it. Zuko lifted his foot into the air. The duck clung to his shoe but lost its grip and fell into Zuko's out reached hand. Confused, he lifted the duck to his face only to have it quack loudly in his face. Katara laughed.

The duck hopped off of Zuko's hand and then waddled to Katara. It climbed up her leg and then onto her lap. It made a small chirping noise. Katara petted the duck softly and smoothed its feathers. Carefully, Zuko watched her hands as they gently caressed the duck's shell. He remembered a time where he and his mother would sit by the pond and feed the ducks. He never thought of asking his mother for advice, not like how Katara did. Somewhere out there his mother was possibly alive. She was living. She was being, being someone else. Someone who was not his mother.

Katara's mother was dead but her spirit was alive.

The Water Tribe girl looked to the prince and then to the turtle duck. "You know, I'd say that animals really like you. Or at least seem to." Her voice grew distant. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"What?" he asked. Her voice was low and he could barely make out what she had said.

"I think I realised it a while ago, but I didn't want to believe it. You really do care about Aang. About Toph, Sokka, Haru, Teo, the Duke, even me. I hate to say it, but...I'm impressed. I..." she looked at his face and into his eyes. Zuko couldn't help but notice that the light of the moon reflected gracefully on her bright blue eyes. They seemed pale, almost glowing.

She weakly smiled, "I think I've grown to like you."

Zuko nervously smiled and his cheeks began to burn. "Thank you. I'm glad that you don't hate me anymore...or at least sort of like me."

Katara looked at him again and then down. "I've grown," she stroked the duck again and in the quietest voice she could find she answered, "to like you."

The prince looked at her, and blinked several times in confusion. Slowly she lowered her head onto his shoulder and closed her eyes. Zuko could feel the warmth of her body seep through his clothing and into his skin. The hairs on his body were standing on end, and his face was hot. Almost intuitively, he took his hand and placed it on her shoulder, pulling her closer. He let his head rest gently on hers.

The prince could feel his heart racing beneath his shirts, beneath Katara's rested head. He swallowed the knot in his throat and embraced the warmth growing in his body.

"I feel the same."


End file.
